Geoffrey Dean: hits the spot in Languedoc-Roussillon

When La Revue de Vin de Fance, the esteemed French wine magazine, gave Foncalieu one of its coveted annual awards in Paris in January, the wine world sat up and took note. Les Vignobles Foncalieu, to give them their full name, was crowned French co-operative of the year, following in the footsteps of La Chablisienne in Chablis and Embres et Castelmaure in Corbieres. Twenty years after its formation as a union of co-operatives, the Languedoc-centred Foncalieu had won a most notable accolade.

Bibendum poaches Waitrose's Andrew Shaw as head of buying

Bibendum has appointed Waitrose's wine buying manager Andrew Shaw as its new head of buying.

New sales director at United Wineries

United Wineries has promoted Nathan Last to sales director with the aim of consolidating its position as the largest supplier of branded Spanish wines in the UK and driving growth in its Italian brands.

Trade hits back against wine "rip offs" on Twitter

Some high-profile members of the trade have hit back against supermarkets' cut-price wine deals, which they brand "cynical and misleading".

Jenny Mackenzie: My take on Vinho Verde "Boys of Summer" tasting

Vinho Verde is a wine marketing gift: alliterative headlines; light, aromatic white wines; numerous indigenous grape varieties; moderate alcohol; affinity to tapas style food; and is helping to put Portugal firmly on the interesting wine regions radar.

Meet the buyers: Asda

Morrisons adds Caviro wines to range

Morrisons is to take on two new wines from the Italian wine co-operative Caviro - Pinot Grigio Blush delle Venezie IGT and Garganega Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT.

Majestic boss Steve Lewis on record sales figures

Majestic Wine has just announced pre-tax profit gains of 14.5% - Gemma McKenna catches up with chief executive Steve Lewis to find out the nitty gritty behind the figures.

Waitrose sees record sales for English Wines

UK wine trebled sales and outperformed all other countries in May, for retailer Waitrose.

Sainsbury's announces regional winners of Great British Beer Hunt

Sainsbury's has announced the regional winners of its 2012 Great British Beer Hunt.

Andrew Shaw: Why Waitrose got involved in WineStars

We were really excited to be part of the WineStars event. An innovative concept, it enabled us to see the brightest and best of the wine world, and shone a light into corners that we may not have looked into ourselves. With the opportunity to screen and shortlist entries in advance, it was very positive for us.

Oddbins hunts for Britain's best amateur wine taster

Independent wine merchant Oddbins has launched The Palate, a competition to find the country's best amateur wine taster.

Majestic mobile website launch sees increase in traffic

Majestic's recently launched mobile commerce site has seen a 60% increase in store page views during its first two weeks.

Harpers Awards 2012 winners

Bibendum, Majestic, Sainsbury's, The Sampler, Tanner's, Jose Pizarro and Pollen Street Social were some of the big name winners at last night's inaugural Harpers Awards.

BRICs to surge by 80% in red wine in next five years

BRIC markets will grow their red wine sales by 80% in the next five years - according to Euromonitor's Spiros Malandrakis.

France tops International Wine Challenge leaderboard

The top three gold medal-winning nations in the 2012 International Wine Challenge are reigning champions France with 120, Australia with 69 and Portugal with 55.

France tops the leaderboard at the IWC

The top three gold medal-winning nations in the 2012 International Wine Challenge are reigning champions France with 120, Australia with 69 and Portugal with 55.

Co-op to segment wines 'more fiercely' by demographics

The Co-operative is planning to segment its wines "more fiercely" by store demographics, adding more brands to the mix throughout and keeping quirkier wines for its premium shops.

Full list of Harpers Awards finalists revealed

The full list of finalists for next week's inaugural Harpers Awards can now be revealed.

Indies buy wine direct to benefit from euro exchange rate

Independent retailers are seizing the opportunity to buy wines direct in order to boost their margins thanks to sterling's four-year high against the euro.